Week 14: Coming to an End

As I look back over the past 14 weeks I can't believe all of the things I have got to experience. This week was as exciting as all the others were! My time here at CASH are coming to an end which means I have to hand the classes back over to Ms Aurand! We are wrapping up our units on animals
science and welding and getting ready to move on to new things!

The metal cowboy projects are coming along great and the plants are growing great in the greenhouse! I am looking forward to coming back for the CASH FFA banquet in May and seeing the flowers we planted being used as center pieces and door prizes!

The most exciting part of the week was having the opportunity to help run the Dairy Foods CDE at the local Spring Round-Up. This day full of contests including dairy judging, floriculture, meat judging, wildlife and small gas engines was held at the Lawrence County fairgrounds. Students from many Western PA schools can to compete in these events!

This was so beneficial because I got the chance to see all the work it takes to prepare for a contest and what it takes to run the CDE! I got to administer the written test portion of the dairy foods contest and even judge the corsages that the students in the floriculture contest made!

During my time at Round-Up I was reminded of the endless opportunities and skills that FFA provides these students. All of the students were so excited to get there to compete, meet other FFA members from all the different schools and hang out with their classmates.

I'm thankful for all of the opportunities I've had here at CASH and I'm ready to enjoy this last week!

Visiting Carly-Jean the Ag Ed Machine!

On Wednesday, April 1st I had the chance to head to Fort Cherry High School and Visit another 2015 Penn State student teacher Carly-Jean Schaefer! I loaded up my car and headed to Southwestern PA to visit and see what the students at Fort Cherry were up to!

I had the chance to visit on a unique day when they were having a CDE day. Students participated in Job Interview and Sales competition! Besides the CDE's I also got to observe Ms Schaefer in a few different classes. 

We started the day by doing some composting in the bins that one of her classes built. It was awesome to see not only the bins, but how they are implementing them throughout the entire school. Carly and her cooperating teacher Mrs. Hoover, go around the cafeteria at lunch and collect food scraps to compost! I also got to observe Ms Schaefer working with her floriculture students. They were making Easter arrangements where they added things such as Easter eggs and peeps to the arrangements for some extra color and Easter touch!

One of the most impressive thing about my visits was getting to see the facilities at Fort Cherry. The greenhouse, floral arranging room, hydroponic systems and classroom were all very impressive! 

Overall, it was such a great day to catch up with my dear friend Carly and see her in her element. I was very impressed in the way she handled herself around the students and you can definitely tell they respected her and enjoyed having her as their instructor!

Week 13: From Scared to Successful

I can't believe that I only have 2 more weeks here at CASH! The time has flown by so fast and I can't express the impact that this opportunity has had on me. The teachers, the students and all of the things Ive had the chance to experience have been nothing short of awesome! I am so excited for these last few days I get to spend here and am sad to leave CASH but I'm excited for whatever life hands me next!

This week has been a great example of getting over fears and finding our strengths. Last semester as I prepared to come to CASH to student teach, I got more nervous the closer it got. I was excited about my placement and the things I was going to teach but still I was as nervous as ever. I was afraid of messing up or even scared that I wouldn't like it. Once I got here though, I realized that I really did love to teach and that all the people here had my back. As the weeks went on I got more and more comfortable and was starting to see growth in myself and also my students. 

This week I saw the same thing happening in many of my students. A while back the Agriculture 1 students began building wooden benches. I watched as they struggle to use the power tools, were afraid to use the saws and spent more time talking about how they couldn't do it instead of giving it a try. The same thing was happening with the older students as they worked on their welding projects. The students were afraid they would burn themselves or that their welds wouldn't be good enough. 

Well this week as our projects are coming to an end, I noticed that the students were working in the shop like they have been doing it their whole lives! They were working together to get their projects done. They weren't saying that they couldn't do it but instead showing off what they had done to every other student in the class. The students who were afraid to weld were the first ones in the booth and had some of the best beads of the day. 

It made me so happy to see the students so excited about their projects they had finished. It really made all the long shop days of working with complaining students worth it and it made me proud to be their teacher!

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."

-John Wayne

Week 12: A Quick Week

Week 12 was quite the short week for me at CASH! Earlier this year I was not a big fan of the normal snow and cold weather here in Crawford County but this week I was glad that they are used to it. Because they were used to the crazy weather we didn't end up with many snow days! That meant that this week I had a nice five day Easter Break! 

I was only in school Monday and Tuesday of this week and on Wednesday I went to visit Carly at Fort Cherry High School! Those two days ran smoothly as we continued to work on our wooden benches, metal projects and learned about animal science and digestion! The students were all very excited for the upcoming break so it took some extra effort to keep them focused and on task throughout the day!

On Monday night we had an FFA meeting where we started to talk about the spring banquet. It has been a great learning experience to see all of the work that goes into having a successful banquet. Here at CASH they plan for around 200 people to come to their banquet! I also had the chance to sit down with Ms Aurand and put in an order for all of the napkins, table cloths, awards, certificates and other things that we need!

Overall, even though the week was short it went well! I am looking forward to getting some work done over break and coming back to enjoy the last couple weeks of my time here!

SAE Visit #2

For my second SAE visit, I had the chance to visit  Brittany Chason at her job at Bortnick’s Dairy. Brittany is a senior who has been active in FFA throughout all four years of high school and serves as the chapter secretary this year. She has a placement SAE and gets paid for her time milking cattle. The visit occurred at Bortnick’s farm in the parlor! The farm is a local dairy where they milk over a thousand cattle a day. They also have a bio-digester on the farm that I got to check out on my visit as well!

Before the visit we had to make preparations both with Brittany and her boss to make sure it was alright for us to visit. We made sure we had everything we needed and headed to the farm! Brittany works in the
second parlor on the farm which is the smaller of the two. She has to milk, make sure the cattle are healthy

and make sure the barn is clean!

For this SAE I think it is important to evaluate the student on their work, an evaluation from their boss and their record keeping. Brittany uses AET to keep track of her time, her activities and her income at Bortnick’s farm. This was an area where recommendations were being made. We talked to the student about the importance of keeping up to date with records and encouraged her to enter her work to AET more frequently. 

I was unsure about how placement SAE’s worked so getting to go along and observe on the visit was great. I think that placement SAE’s can be perfect for students who do not raise animals or maybe want to try something different! 
 

Week 11: Is Technology Helping or Hurting?

One of the unique opportunities that I have here at CASH is the chance to use a lot of technology in the classroom. The school is one to one which means that each student has their own iPad! I also have access to my own iPad and an Apple TV which means that I can project my iPad on to the screen so everyone can see it.

This has given me the chance to do a lot of cool things in the classroom and make my lectures a little more exciting. However, the iPads can also have some problems in the classroom. Check out this chart below of some of my observations! 

Overall the biggest struggle has been the distraction that using iPads in the classroom can create. When we are using them for research or to take notes, students can quickly open other tabs. 

On the other hand, the awesome things that you can do with iPads has been so fun to utilize. I have loved using NearPod instead of showing PowerPoints. The other nice thing is that I can easily divide students up into groups for research!

Having iPads in the classroom can be challenging at times but has been an awesome experience!

Week 10: Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow

What an exciting week this has been! To begin, I started out my week by attending my first ever SLLC (State Legislative Leadership Conference) in Harrisburg! 

On Saturday morning we loaded up the van and headed east to work the Keystone Truck and Tractor pulls at the farm farm show complex. Our boys got to be down on the track dragging the exhaust bag and our girls worked at the doors, VIP areas and sold 50/50 tickets. This was a great activity because not only did the students get to attend the pulls, the proceeds benefit the FFA!

On Sunday morning we began the conference. We had 3 Juniors, 1 senior and a senior who was selected to be a second year scholar on the trip with us. Throughout the conference the students had the chance to learn more about parliamentary procedure and different aspects of the legislative system. It was awesome to see how excited the students were and to see so many different FFA chapters come together. 

On Monday we spent the afternoon doing community service at a local church. We cleaned windows, walls and everything in between. It was a lot of fun to be able to give back to the community while attending the conference.

Being on this trip was a great learning experience for many reasons. I was able to see all the behind the scenes work that has to take place in order for a trip to be successful. Everything from making sure the students knew what they needed to pack, making sure we were registered properly and planning out where we were stopping to eat along our five hour drive.

When we got home on Tuesday I was exhausted but knew I had to get to work on my lessons for the rest of the week. In Ag 1 we continued working on our benches on the shop days and while we were in the classroom we talked about swine. This week instead of lecturing and having the students take notes, I assigned them a breed of pig and they had to look up the information and present it to the class. This worked well becuase the students were more involved and took more ownership over the lesson.

In Ag 2 we are perfecting our Arc welding skills but running beads and finally doing some butt joints. This was a fun activity because after the students welding their metal together we would bust it apart and see how deep their penetration was and how good their weld actually was. 

In regards to the FFA chapter, our busy week continued as we had the chance to go out into the community on Thursday night and perform for the local Lions Club. A group of our square dancers traveled to the meeting and did a demonstration of three songs and ate dinner with the members of the Lions Club. It was great to meet more members of the community and show off what the FFA has been up to.

Next week will be another busy week because our fundraiser will be delivered, our new jackets are coming in, and we will be attending the local livestock committee meeting and the western region PAAE meeting! 

"Some people dream of success, others wake up and work hard for it."

-Winston Churchill

Week 9: Classroom, Greenhouse & Shop, Oh My!

This week was exciting because it was the first time in a while that we had all 5 full days! It was a fun week where we spent time in the classroom, the greenhouse and the shop! It was also a very exciting week
because the snow is beginning to melt and I have seen grass for the first time in Crawford County!

The Ag 1 students are almost finished with their wooden benches we are working on in the shop. We also have continued our animal unit by talking about breeds and uses of beef cattle and dairy cattle. We have a unique shop and classroom schedule because we will spend 3 days a week in the shop and 3 days in the classroom. I enjoy this because it breaks up the week and keeps the students more interested in what we are learning. However, it can also be challenging because it can cause some disconnect within the lessons. 

In Ag 2 we are working on Arc welding. The students started to get really comfortable and maybe just a bit over confident with their ability to make a bead with a 6013 electrode. That sure changed once we switched to a 6011 and they were a little more challenged. The geraniums that these students planted are continuing to grow very well in the greenhouse! I am looking forward to seeing the final product as the center piece at the banquet! We also worked on a cool project in the greenhouse involving sunflower mats!

The juniors and seniors in Ag 3/4 are continuing to make their lifesize cowboys out of flat steel and sheet metal. I am really excited about this project and love watching this small group of students work so well together in the shop. On the days we are in the classroom we have been discussing monogastric digestion.

In agriscience we are continuing to learn about plant reproduction. We did many different things this week from vocabulary quizzes to taking notes and taking the exam for this chapter. One of the cool things I've got to experience here is giving exams through a system called 'My Big Campus'. The school is one to one and therefore all students have an iPad. I am able to upload the exam and the students just need to log-on and take their exam during class time. Using the iPads in class has been a really enjoyable way to enhance my lessons! I am especially fond of the NearPod app and use it quite frequently!

This week was also another exciting week for the FFA chapter. We had a meeting on Monday and because the weather is starting to get nice we had a lot to talk about! We planned for spring roundup, our food booth at the school sporting events, the banquet and our upcoming trip to SLLC!

On Wednesday evening the FFA chapter had the opportunity to go to the school board meeting for an awesome check presentation. The Conneaut Area FFA Chapter was nominated by a local farmer and received a $2500 grant from Monsanto! It was awesome to not only attend the board meeting but to see the FFA members making the school proud!

I am looking forward to our trip to SLLC this weekend and for what the upcoming weeks of teaching will bring!

"Sometimes you will never understand the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

-Dr Seuss   

Week 8: The Highs & The Lows

I can’t believe that my student teaching experience is over half way over! I can truly say that this has been a great experience so far and I am looking forward to getting the most I can from the last 7 weeks! 

I was looking forward to this week because it was actually a full, five day week. Well that was the plan... As the school day ended on Tuesday, I ended up over top of the trash can not feeling so hot. With that being said I got to experience my first sick day on Wednesday lying in bed trying to conquer the nasty 24 hour flu that’s been going around. Thanks to lots of sleep and a visit from my dear mom with a delivery of juice, crackers and medicine, I was back in the saddle on Thursday!

The Ag 1 students moved forward on our animal science unit where we are doing an introduction to livestock! This week was also the week where students had to recite all 5 paragraphs of the FFA creed. This was quite the challenge but I’m happy to say we have made it through!

This week brought about my biggest challenge I’ve had with classroom management! After having some rowdy students who did not want to listen in the shop on Tuesday I decided that we weren’t quite ready to be in the shop again on Thursday. This was hard for me because I have a hard time being mean but I knew it had to be done. I was able to talk to the students about my expectations of them both in the classroom and in the shop and I think that next week will go much better! 

In Ag 2 we have been working on our Arc Welding skills which is going great! I am always impressed at how great this small group of students work in the shop and I have to say that their welding skills are pretty impressive as well! In Ag 3/4  we have also been spending some time in the shop working on making metal cowboys! This involved using the plasma cutter to cut the flat steel for the legs, arms and torso of our cowboys. One of my favorite parts of this project so far was watching one student go from being scared to death to use the plasma cutter to being the first in line the next day as excited as she could be!


In Agriscience we are continuing to work on our plant reproduction unit. I have been able to increase the enthusiasm in this class by breaking up the days we take notes and trying to add some different activities to spice it up a bit! We also have been having a blast watching all of our plants grow in the greenhouse.

Outside of the class, the FFA chapter has been preparing for the lip-sync competition that takes place this weekend! On Friday night we had dress rehearsal and I’m very excited to watch them perform! I also need to find some leg warmers and a sweat band for the faculty lip sync routine that I get to be a part of!

“Live each moment from your own inspiration, not from your desire to look good in the eyes of others”

Week 7: National FFA Week!

Dine with a State Officer!

What a crazy week here at CASH celebrating National FFA Week! In the classroom we continued to work on woodshop projects, welding and plant science. The greenhouse is getting fuller and fuller as our geraniums, tomatoes, peppers and marigolds grow! While we stayed busy in the classroom, shop and greenhouse, the exciting and busy part of the week happened after 3:45!

Pie for the teachers!

Each day this week we had a theme for clothing and an after school activity that many members of the FFA participated in! To start off on Monday we had "dress like a farmer day" and Lip Sync practice after school. Here at Conneaut, the school hosts a lip syncing competition as a fundraiser.

The FFA chapter put together a group and we are working on getting our singing, dancing and pedal tractor routine perfected!

Tuesday was Official Dress day and in the evening we drove to Meadville to eat dinner at Hoss's with the FFA State President Katie McLaughlin! It was great to see other FFA members, advisors and even a student teacher from this area all come together!

Volleyball!

Wednesday we wore our FFA T-shirts and had the chance to show our appreciation for the faculty here at Conneaut Area Senior High. After school, the FFA member serve cherry pie and ice cream to the teachers to thank them for all of their support throughout the year!

Thursday we wore a shirt from our favorite college! I of course represented Penn State and was excited to see so many students representing the blue and white too! (We won't talk about the ones that wore Ohio State!) After school we got together to work on our "She Think's My Tractor's Sexy" lip sync routine then headed to the gym for some intense games of
volleyball.Thursday was a fun day too because Ms Deanna Miller came to visit for the day to see that CASH was all about!

Bowling!

On Friday we wore shirts that represented Agriculture related companies! In the evening we rented out the local bowling ally and had the chance to spend a few hours laughing, hanging out and bowling with many FFA members. I have to say that I did kick some butt at bowling!

Selfie Contest!

All week long there was also a selfie challenge going on! Students had a different theme for each day and at the end of the week we picked a winner that had the best selfie 3 out of the 5 days! The winner got $25 and we had some awesome candy bars for honorable mention! Throughout the week we also had our spring fundraiser going on. Students were going around to family, friends and neighbors selling pizza, pretzels, flowers and much more!

Even though this week was crazy busy and I was totally exhausted by the end of it, it was incredible!
This week showed me how blessed I am to have the opportunity to work with great teachers and amazing students! There are only 8 weeks of student teaching left and I have to say, It's gonna be hard to leave CASH!!

Week 6: Short, Sweet and to the Point!

Week 6 here at Conneaut Area Senior High was a week like none other. We had a four day weekend which was a great break to recharge and prepare for some more awesome days in the classroom! This four day weekend meant that we had Monday off for Presidents' Day.  On Tuesday we braved the cold and got back into the swing of things in the classroom.

The  Ag. 1 classes continued working on their 5 board benches in the wood shop, Ag 2 and Ag 3/4 students got finished up with their Arc welding review and safety and the Agscience students continued our unit on plant systems!

Wednesday is creed day here at CASH! All three of the Ag 1 classes are learning the FFA creed and the older classes are working on memorizing the S.W.E.A.T Pledge. The S.W.E.A.T pledge ( Skill and Work Ethic Aren't Taboo) is an awesome pledge that was written my Mike Rowe. We are coming along well on the creed but realized the fourth paragraph was causing some problems. Therefore, before students are allowed to go into the shop, they must increase their creed score by at least 5 points.

The week was going along great but on Thursday I got to experience my first snow day after the temperature and wind chill fell to below negative 20! While it was nice to get a little break and get caught up on some school work, the snow day meant that our after school square dance demonstration for the local lions club was also cancelled. It also meant that this week was gonna be a 2 day week for me because on Friday I spent the day in Happy Valley with the rest of my student teaching cohort!

Getting back together with the other student teachers and the advisors at Penn State was great! We covered so much during our day together. We shared how our student teaching experiences were going, talked about interviewing for jobs and having our resume and cover letter ready to go and so much more.

While this week was very short it was still another week of great learning experiences! I'm looking forward to next week because we have a loaded schedule full of awesome FFA experiences in celebration of national FFA week!

"Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges."

- Joyce Meyer

Checking out the Science Wing!

Last week I had the opportunity to observe a Science Class here at Conneuat Area Senior High! I sat in on an Environmental Ecology class made up of 14 freshmen. The objectives for the day focused around the vocabulary for the next chapter. 

They started the class by going over their weekly agenda. Next, the students took a daily quiz which was then graded by their peers. The rest of the class period was spent going over vocabulary words and their definitions on the over-head projector. All of the students took notes on their iPads however they did not seem to be fully interested in the lesson. 

The teacher tried to focus the students’ attention on the presentation by asking questions and getting them involved in the lecture. I feel the students would have been more likely to be interested if there was some variability to the lesson. Students spent the entire class in their seats either taking a quiz or taking notes. This may not be how every class goes but you can tell that the students were not fully engaged in what was going on that day. 

Even though the students were not super active, the teacher tried to capitalize on student interest or experiences by relating the subject matter to things that the students would know more about.  He also showed a lot of enthusiasm for the subject matter which helped to make the lecture more interesting. Also, the teacher had great clarity when discussing what he wanted each student to do. For example, he was also checking for understanding to make sure each student was following along and understood what they were doing before he moved on to the next item of business. 

Overall, observing this class has helped me to realize the importance of variability in the classroom. Getting the students up and moving or even switching up the way you are conducting class can keep the students interested and more engaged in the lesson. It was great to see another teacher at work!

The First SAE Visit!

On Wednesday, February 11th I had the chance to do my first SAE Visit of the semester! We went to visit TJ, a sophomore student who is doing an SAE project on his sows. TJ is an active Ag student who is also serving as an FFA officer this year. Our visit occurred at TJ’s home where we had the chance to meet his parents and brother while we were checking out the animals!

Before we went to visit we asked the student what dates worked best for them. We scheduled the visit and checked with both the student and parents to make sure it would work! We discussed what the student’s project was and about what we were going to look for while we were there. Some of the things that the students SAE would be evaluated on are the facilities, the animals and the future plans he has for his project and the success he has had so far. 

On Wednesday, my cooperating teacher Ms Aurand, the other FFA advisor Frank Bizjak and I loaded up in the FFA van and headed out to TJ’s home! We had the chance to talk to TJ and his family about the sows and the piglets and I even got to hold one of the cute little babies! One of the recommendations that were discussed during the visit was a suggestion to improve the facilities such as adding some more ventilation. We also had the chance to discuss TJ’s plans for all of the piglets once they are grown! 


Ms Aurand grades the students on their SAE projects through AET. Along with having at least one SAE visit, the students are required to keep records in AET. Each semester a portion of their class grade is based off of their daily records. All of the students are required to enter at least one entry per day throughout the entire school year. 

I truly enjoyed this SAE visit because it gave me the chance to see the students are work outside of the classroom. It was also great to get to meet some parents and get out into the community a little more! 

Week 5: A Week of Firsts!

This week may have been my fifth week of student teaching, but it was full of many firsts. My first parent conference, my first week of a full load of classes, my first SAE visit and even my first 2 hour delay! I was starting to think that didn’t believe in delays here in Crawford County even with the incredible amounts of snow we have gotten but we started out this week with one! 

I will admit it was nice to sleep in a little but the delay was also frustrating because I didn’t get to see some of my classes that day. Therefore all three of my Ag 1 classes ended up in different spots. On top of the delay, we had activity period this week which meant that one class of Ag 1 students got even more behind! This was just another example of how we need to be flexible in the classroom!

One of my other firsts for the week was having a parent conference after school. It was a great learning experience to see how these meeting can go! It was interesting to see many different teachers, the principal, the student and their parent come together to discuss what they can do to help the student succeed. It taught me how important parent communication can be for the teacher, the student and even the administration of the school.

On Wednesday night I also had the opportunity to do two different SAE visits. One student had a placement SAE at a local dairy farm and the other was raising sows and had some adorable piglets for us to check out too! I loved getting the chance to see the hard work the students were putting in outside of school. It also was great to see other parents and members of the local community. 

On top of all the awesome things I got to do this week, I also picked up the Ag Science classes which means this was my first week of teaching a full load. While it was exhausting, it was exciting to get the chance to work with every class throughout the day. 

The Ag 2 and Ag 3/4 classes began learning about Arc Welding safety, the Ag 1 students continued to work on their woodshop projects and learn about FFA history and the Ag Science students began a unit on plants! Throughout the week the different classes had the chance to plant in the greenhouse, try to weld ice cubes together and create different welding joints using graham crackers and icing! 

The classes on went pretty well but I have noticed that I need to work on getting the students to be more enthusiastic on the projects and lessons we are doing. I am going to try to relate the lessons to things in their lives or even talk about how the information can be beneficial to their future!

Overall, my student teaching experience at CASH is going great! Next week is going to be full of more fun projects, new experiences and I’ll get to be reunited with my Penn State student teacher family! I can’t wait!

“Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect!”

Week 4: Now it's Getting Serious

It’s hard to believe that this is already the fourth week of student teaching! This week I continued with my Ag. 2 and Ag 3/4 class and I picked up Ag. 1 which is three different classes of freshmen! I was excited to work with this large group of younger students but was pretty nervous to take on all three classes at once!

In the Ag. 1 classes we began by getting to know each other and talking a little bit about my expectations for the next few months. We then began talking about the history of the FFA and have continued to work on memorizing the creed! In the Ag 2 class we continued discussing plants and soil and our peppers in the greenhouse finally came up! In Ag 3/4 we continued talking about genetics and even made some sweet DNA molecules out of licorice and marshmallows.

My favorite part of the week was having a guest speaker on Wednesday to talk to all of the classes. My dad, Ken Metrick, came to Conneaut and spent the day covering a variety of topics. He discussed his personal experiences with FFA in the freshmen classes, and talked about animal and vegetable production in the older classes. He even had the chance to talk to Ms. Aurand’s Ag-Science classes about business and food safety.

I have been able to work on a few things I have been struggling with especially wrapping up at the end of the lessons. I have been trying to go back and look at our objectives for the day and discuss how we accomplished each one. Also, if there is any time at the end of the class I have been able to move ahead to the next day's lesson or give students time to work on class related projects such as keeping their AET records up to date.

Everyday is a new experience and everyday I learn something valuable! As my schedule fills up more and more each week I am beginning to realize how important organization and planning is and just how crazy being an Ag. teacher can be! Next week I take on the Ag-Science classes which means I will have a full day of teaching! I'm sure I will have my struggles and things will get crazy, but I can't wait!

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."

Week 3: The third times a charm!

This was my third week student teaching at Conneaut Area Senior High. The first week I was excited, the second week I just wasn’t feeling it but this week I think it all clicked. This week I felt more confident in my lessons and more comfortable in the classroom.

In my Ag 2 class we continued to discuss plant structures and then began talking about soil. We did some fun activities including using Play dough to create parts of a flower and making our very own edible soil profiles. Also, the geraniums that we planted last week have come up and are looking great. It has been fun to watch them grow in the greenhouse while we are talking about the parts of plants in the classroom.

On Tuesday I began teaching my Ag 3/4 class which is made up of Juniors and Seniors. We began by doing some introductions then got right into our lesson on Genetics. Throughout the week we did activities figuring out which traits we have that are dominant or recessive such as eye color and whether or not we had curly hair, practiced Punnett squares and did the Easter Egg lab. I really enjoyed getting to do the Easter Egg lab because it was one I had done in the Fall during our 412 lab. I made some adjustments and the activity went so much better this time around.

This week I also got to attend my first FFA meeting. It was exciting because this was my first FFA meeting ever! We discussed fundraisers, upcoming activities and National FFA Week. I am really looking forward to all the fun activities and events that I am going to get to do with the FFA Chapter while I’m here!

On Thursday, I also had my first observation with Mrs. Rice. It was awesome to get some feedback on my teaching and discuss my plans for my rest of the semester.

After these first three weeks I have noticed a few things that I need to work on during my lessons. The first is my questioning. I am working on being able to ask higher level of thinking questions but

to also perfect my wait time. The second is my lesson wrap up. I need to do a better job of summarizing at the end of each lesson and making sure I am using all of my class time.

“If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”

Week 2: And so it begins!

Everyday is becoming a new experience for me here at Conneaut Area Senior High. This week we had Monday off and an in-service day on Tuesday. During the in-service day I had the chance to attend a staff meeting, meet more of the administration and talk to Ms Aurand about future plans for my upcoming classes.

On Wednesday I finally got to teach my first group of students! I began my Plant Science unit with my Agriculture Education 2 class. We began with some introductions and talked about my expectations for the class. We talked about what experiences they have had with plants in the past and what they wanted to learn about. To finish out the class we talked about the importance of plants by listing all of the plants and plant products that we come in contact with on a daily basis. 

Thursday was a lot of fun because we got to be in the greenhouse! We discussed the proper way to plant seeds and what materials we needed. Then we got work planting geraniums! The goal is to be able to use these flowers at the FFA Banquet this spring! 

Friday we were back in the classroom discussing parts of plants. We specifically focused on roots and stems and their functions within plants. I have really enjoyed being in the classroom with the students this week. I am looking forward to adding another class next week and getting to work with more students! 

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."

Week 1: Welcome to C.A.S.H.

I cannot believe that this was my first official week as a student teacher. The past 7 semesters of college have lead up to this moment and it’s finally here. This week was a little different due to the fact that we were on a trip to the Farm Show for four days. However, I was both excited and nervous
to spend Thursday and Friday in the classroom.

This week was an observation week for me so I spent the majority of my time observing Ms. Aurand teach and trying to learn student’s names. At the beginning of each class we went around the room and each student shared their name and three things about them. This was a fun activity that really helped me get to know the students a little more but also helped the students get to know me.

Another exciting part of this past week was getting to meet other faculty members and the administration at Conneaut Area Senior High. It was great to put a face with the names of principals and other teachers throughout the school!

This week also gave me time to make sure I was ready to officially teach next week! I was able to get my lesson plans ready and get the materials lined up to pant geraniums in the greenhouse next week. I am looking forward to being in the front of the classroom starting Wednesday!

"Wake up with determination. Go to sleep with satisfaction"

My first Mid-Winter Convention!

I have attended the Pennsylvania State Farm Show every year since I was born, but this trip was different than any other. After spending a few days at the show with my cousins, I took on a new role Sunday night. I met up with Ms. Aurand, Mr. Bizjak and over twenty members of the Conneaut Area FFA. I was officially a student teacher.

Sunday night we spent time eating dinner, doing homework and most importantly practicing square dancing! Early Monday morning the students were lined up in the hall with their official dress on ready for the big day! We headed to the farm show complex and I was ready for my first Mid-Winter Convention ever.

It was not only an exciting day for me, it was a big day for the whole Conneaut Area FFA Chapter. 11 students got to put on their own FFA jacket for the first time, 3 students received their Keystone Degree and we even had 1 student who was an Agri-Business Star Finalist.

That evening 17 students from the FFA Chapter competed in the square dance competition. Students have been practicing the past few months and had the chance to demonstrate 5 dances Monday night. We walked away with two red ribbons!

We also participated in the #todaysFFA Social Media contest. This was my first official student teaching assignment! Our students told their Farm Show story on Facebook and Twitter with pictures and the hashtag #todaysFFA. Our chapter had the most views and post which means that we won the contest! We are looking forward to our pizza party with the State Officers!

Tuesday we spent the day traveling around doing tours of industries in the area. We started at Kreider Farms in Lancaster County. We saw the facilities where they raise 6 million chickens and milk over 1500 dairy cows on a carousel parlor. We then went to Zimmermans, a corporation that is made up of three businesses; Keystone Coating, PBZ Cattle Equipment and Crop Care. After this we toured Uncle Henry’s Pretzels and stopped at Cabelas. Wednesday we loaded up the bus and headed to Hershey to tour Chocolate World. After spending some time there we began the 5 hour bus ride home.

Overall, my first Mid-Winter Convention was a great one and a great way to kick off my student teaching experience.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."